Positive Review of Dementia Care at Salisbury District Hospital

Salisbury District Hospital has received a positive report on the care it provides to patients with dementia following a review carried out by specialists and carers from the south west region.

As part of the assessment the peer review team observed the care provided on wards and in outpatient areas, looked at the interaction between staff and patients at mealtimes and talked to staff in clinical and non clinical areas. They also looked carefully at the role of dementia champions who support and promote staff training, which ensures that dementia patients are treated with respect and dignity and receive the appropriate level of care.

In their report the review team identified clear, strong, leadership and commitment, and a positive culture within the Trust, which has enabled it to make significant changes over the last 12 months to improve the care for patients with dementia. The report noted the investment in time in establishing dementia champions, as well as the enthusiasm of champions and their spread across clinical and non clinical areas.

The report also highlighted the clear commitment of the Trust towards the nutritional standard, with well organised systems in place in this area.The interaction between staff and patients at mealtimes was a positive feature, which is particularly important for this vulnerable group of patients. The team were also impressed with the systematic use of volunteers who work hard to provide a range of stimulating activities for patients.

Peter Hill,Interim Chief Executive at Salisbury District Hospital said: “ This was a positive report that not only reflects our commitment in this important area of patient care,but also the enthusiasm and professionalism of our staff. They have worked hard to provide good quality care and accelerate the pace of improvements which has had a positive impact on the care we give to patients with dementia.”

The report also helped to identify areas that could benefit from further improvement. These centred mainly on the creation of a dementia friendly environment with better use of ‘orientation cues’ such as easy-read clocks, calendars and coloured crockery. Expansion of a system-wide approach for flagging up patient-specific requirements was also suggested.

In summing up their report, the peer review team said that “Overall the peer review team considered that the Trust is in a very good position to continue to make systematic progress to improving care for people with dementia with a strong foundation in place, highly committed staff and a clear will to do better”.

Mr Hill added: “I think that this report is a credit to our staffand I want to thank them for their enthusiasm and professionalism and the way in which they responded to the review. Although this is an excellent report, we acknowledge that there is still more work to do. We will continue to build on the progress we have made so far and ensure that we listen and act on the creative ideas that our dementia champions are generating.”